System and method for monitoring progress of delivery of a patent-specific medication in a healthcare facility

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of monitoring progress of delivery of a patient-specific medication are disclosed. A patient/medication identification (ID) device is provided on a package containing the medication, the patient/medication ID device comprising medication/patient information indicative of the medication and the patient. At least one location ID device is provided at a location, the at least one location ID device comprising a unique location ID associated with the location. The medication/patient information and the patient/medication ID are read. Delivery progress information indicative of a last-known read location where at least one of the medication/patient ID information and the unique location identifier was read is generated. The delivery progress information is stored in a database. The delivery progress information is accessed from the database in response to the request. A delivery status of the medication is indicated to the user.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to medication distribution,and, in particular, relates to systems and methods for monitoringprogress of delivery of a patient-specific medication in a healthcarefacility.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

In a healthcare facility, such as a hospital, a pharmacist or pharmacydepartment within the hospital can coordinate dispensing of medicationsprescribed to patients (patient-specific medications) within thehospital. In recent years, some hospitals have been assisted with drugdistribution management by implementation of automatic dispensingmachines (ADMs). ADMs have effectively created branches of the hospitalpharmacy department at different nursing stations where the ADMs arelocated.

It has been reported that the implementation of ADMs have decreased thetime to first doses of those medications available in the ADM. However,for those medications not dispensed by the ADM (e.g., medications storedin a locked cabinet or a refrigerator), significant time of a careprovider (e.g., nurse) can be spent on attempting to locate a given doseof a patient-specific medication. For example, the non-ADM-dispensedmedication may be delivered to a counter, a shelf, or a hanger (e.g.,for an IV bag), and the care provider would be unable to track thedelivery of the medication.

While some ADMs allow the care provider to track medications that arecurrently available at the ADM, they do not provide any indication ofthe progress of delivery of any medications that are currently notavailable at the ADM. Knowing where the medication is and/or when toexpect the medication at the delivery location can enhance operationalefficiencies of medication dispensing by allowing the care provider toquickly locate the patient-specific medication and/or more effectivelymanage his/her time.

SUMMARY

For some or all of the reasons listed above, there is a need for systemsand methods that allow a care provider to monitor progress of deliveryof a patient-specific medication in a healthcare facility, and toprovide trackable locations of medications other than an ADM.

In certain aspects of the present disclosure, a system for monitoringprogress of delivery of a medication prescribed to a patient isprovided. The medication is to be delivered to a delivery location in ahealthcare facility. The system can comprise a patient/medicationidentification (ID) device provided on a package containing themedication, the patient/medication ID device comprisingmedication/patient information indicative of the medication and thepatient. The system can further comprise at least one location ID deviceprovided at a location, the at least one location ID device comprising aunique location ID associated with the location. The system can furthercomprise at least one reader device configured to read themedication/patient information from the patient/medication ID device andthe unique location ID from the at least one location ID device. Thesystem can further comprise a processor in data communication with thereader device and configured to receive the medication/patient IDinformation and the unique location ID, and generate delivery progressinformation indicative of a last-known read location where at least oneof the patient/medication ID information and the unique location ID wasread by the at least one reader device. The system can further comprisea database in data communication with the processor and configured tostore the delivery progress information. The system can further comprisea tracking device in data communication with the database and configuredto indicate a progress of the delivery of the medication to the userbased on the delivery progress information.

In certain aspects of the present disclosure, a method of monitoringprogress of delivery of a medication prescribed to a patient isprovided. The medication is to be delivered to a delivery location in ahealthcare facility. The method can comprise providing apatient/medication identification (ID) device on a package containingthe medication, the patient/medication ID device comprisingmedication/patient information indicative of the medication and thepatient. The method can further comprise providing at least one locationID device at a location, the at least one location ID device comprisinga unique location ID associated with the location. The method canfurther comprise reading the medication/patient information from thepatient/medication ID device and the patient/medication ID from thepatient/medication ID. The method can further comprise generatingdelivery progress information indicative of a last-known read locationwhere at least one of the medication/patient ID information and theunique location identifier was read. The method can further comprisestoring the delivery progress information in a database. The method canfurther comprise accessing the delivery progress information from thedatabase in response to the request. The method can further compriseindicating a delivery status of the medication to the user.

In certain aspects of the present disclosure, a system for monitoringprogress of delivery of a medication prescribed to a patient isprovided. The medication is to be delivered to a delivery location in ahealthcare facility. The system can comprise a patient/medicationidentification (ID) device provided on a package containing themedication, the patient/medication ID device comprisingmedication/patient information indicative of the medication and thepatient. The system can further comprise a plurality of reader devicesprovided at a plurality of read locations and configured to read themedication/patient information from the patient/medication ID device.The system can further comprise a processor in data communication withthe reader devices and configured to receive the medication/patient IDinformation read by a particular reader device among the plurality ofreader devices and location information indicative of the particularreader device or a corresponding read location of the particular readerdevice, and generate delivery progress information indicative of alast-known read location where the medication/patient ID information wasread by the particular reader device based on the medication/patient IDinformation and the location information. The system can furthercomprise a database in data communication with the processor andconfigured to store the delivery progress information. The system canfurther comprise a tracking device in data communication with thedatabase and configured to receive a tracking request by a user, accessthe delivery progress information from the database in response to therequest, and indicate a delivery status to the user based on thedelivery progress information.

It is understood that other configurations of the subject technologywill become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing detailed description, wherein various configurations of thesubject technology are shown and described by way of illustration. Aswill be realized, the subject technology is capable of other anddifferent configurations and its several details are capable ofmodification in various other respects, all without departing from thescope of the subject technology. Accordingly, the drawings and detaileddescription are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not asrestrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide furtherunderstanding and are incorporated in and constitute a part of thisspecification, illustrate disclosed embodiments and together with thedescription serve to explain the principles of the disclosedembodiments.

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting an exemplary system for monitoringdelivery of a patient-specific medication in a healthcare facilityaccording to certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process formonitoring delivery of a patient-specific mediation according to certainaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for monitoringdelivery of a patient-specific medication from the perspective of atracking device according to certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A and 4B depict exemplary displays that provides deliveryprogress indications in response to a tracking request made at a firsttime and a second time, respectively, according to certain aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary display of a hospital map with readlocations as of the first time with corresponding read locationsindicated thereon.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram depicting a computing system thatmay be employed as the processor depicted in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth to provide a full understanding of the present disclosure. It willbe apparent, however, to one ordinarily skilled in the art thatembodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without some ofthe specific details. In other instances, well-known structures andtechniques have not been shown in detail so as not to obscure thedisclosure.

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting an exemplary system 100 for monitoringdelivery of a patient-specific medication in a healthcare facilityaccording to certain aspects of the present disclosure. For ease andclarity of illustration only, without any intent to limit the scope ofthe present disclosure any way, it is assumed that the patient-specificmedication is an epidural anesthetics IV solution that can be usedduring a child delivery, for example.

The system 100 includes a pharmacy 1 having a medication storage area10, a fill and/or preparation (fill/prep) area 20, and a delivery pickuparea 30. The medication storage area 10 includes a plurality ofmedications and supplies including an anesthetic drug (e.g.,bupivicanine or chloroprocaine) and an appropriate fluid for theanesthetic drug. The anesthetic drug and the fluid are taken from themedication storage area 10 to the prep/fill area 20 where they are mixedtogether to produce the epidural anesthetics IV solution. Apatient/medication ID device 72, such as a barcode label or an RFID tag,is provided on (e.g., affixed to) a package 70 (e.g., IV bag) containingthe IV solution at the prep/fill area 20. The patient/medication IDdevice 72 includes patient/medication ID information indicative of themedication and the patient to whom the medication is prescribed. Thepackage 70 is then taken by a technician at the pharmacy 1 to thedelivery pickup area 30 where it is loaded onto a delivery cart 90 fordelivery to a scheduled delivery/drop location 60 (“Medication Storage#307”) by a delivery person 2.

In the illustrated embodiment, the prep/fill area 20 has a barcodereader 24 provided therein that the technician at the pharmacy 1 can useto read the patient/mediation ID device 72 (a barcode label in theillustrated example) before the package 70 is taken to the deliverypickup area 30. The delivery pickup area 30 has a barcode reader 34provided therein that the technician at the pharmacy 1 can use to readthe patient/medication ID device 72 once the package 70 is taken to thedelivery pickup area 30. The delivery cart 90 may also be provided witha location barcode label 92. The pharmacy 1 also includes a processor 40(e.g., pharmacy server) that is configured to receive an order for thepatient-specific medication from a doctor 3. The processor 40 is coupledto a medication database 45 that is configured to store a variety ofinformation including order status information and delivery progressinformation to be discussed below.

Also depicted in FIG. 1 is an intermediate stop location 50 (“OperatingRoom 1 #305”), located between the pharmacy 1 and the delivery location50, where the delivery cart 90 makes a temporary stop, e.g., fordelivering another package containing a medication for another patient.

The delivery location 60 and/or the intermediate stop location 50 caninclude, for example, a cabinet or a refrigerator for storing apatient-specific medication before use. In the illustrated example, theintermediate stop location 50 and the delivery location 60 are providedwith location barcode label 52 and location barcode label 62,respectively. Each of the location barcode labels 52, 62 includes aunique location ID information indicative of the respective location 50,60 where the corresponding barcode label is provided. As describedabove, the package 70 (e.g., IV bag) containing the patient-specificmedication (e.g., IV solution) is provided with a patient/medicationidentification (ID) device 72. In the illustrated example, thepatient/medication ID device 72 is a barcode label that includespatient/medication information indicative of the patient (e.g., “JaneSmith”) and the medication (e.g., “bupivicanine IV solution”). Thepatient/medication information may also contain other drug or patientrelated information such as the patient's medical conditions (e.g.,allergies), name of the drug (e.g., bupivicanine), the drug dosage, thedrug concentration, the drug administration schedules, and the drugdelivery rate.

Also depicted in the system 100 of FIG.1 is a reader device 84 that ishand carried by the delivery person 2 and/or attached to the deliverycart 90 and is configured to read the patient/medication informationfrom the patient/medication ID device 72 provided on the package 70. Inthe illustrated example, the reader device 84 is a barcode scanner. Inthose embodiments in which the barcode scanner 84 is hand carried by thedelivery person 2, the scanner 84 is also configured to read thelocation ID information from the location barcode labels 52, 62, 92.

In the embodiments described above, the location ID devices 52, 62, 92and/or the patient/medication ID device 72 are passive ID devices,meaning that certain action (e.g., scanning) has be taken by theparticipant (e.g., a pharmacy technician or the delivery person 2) toretrieve information therefrom. In other embodiments, the ID devices canbe active ID devices, meaning that the information retrieval from the IDdevices occur automatically without an action taken by the participant.In some embodiments, the active ID devices can actively transmit signalscontaining the relevant information to the reader device 72 through awireless link. The wireless link can use use a variety of technologiesincluding Bluetooth, ZigBee, wireless USB, and proprietary systems. Inother embodiments, the active ID devices do not themselves transmitsignals, but respond to query signals generated by a reader device(e.g., by altering impedance of an RF circuit therein) as the readerdevice passes by the ID devices in close proximity.

In the illustrated example, each time the barcode scanner 84 scans an IDdevice (e.g., patient/medication ID device or location ID device), theinformation read thereby is wirelessly transmitted over a mobile devicelink 101 to a wireless bridge 50 that receives the information. Thebridge 50 is in data communication with the processor 40 via a hospitalnetwork 107.

The processor 40 is configured to receive medication/patient IDinformation and/or location ID information read by the barcode scanner84, generate delivery progress information therefrom, and store thedelivery progress information in the medication database 45. Thedelivery progress information can include, but is not limited to: thepatient's name or ID; the medication name or ID, the scheduled deliverylocation 60, one or more read locations where the medication/patient IDinformation and/or the location ID information was read by the barcodescanner 84, time when the information was read, and the name or ID ofthe delivery person 2.

The system 100 further comprises tracking devices 120, 130 that allow acare provider 4 (e.g., a nurse assigned the task of administering thepatient-specific medication to the patient) to monitor the progress ofthe delivery of the medication. Each of the tracking devices 120, 130 isconfigured to receive a tracking request by the care provider 4, accessthe medication database 45, either directly or via the processor 40,retrieve the delivery progress information stored in the database 45,and indicate a delivery progress of the medication to the care provider4 based on the delivery progress information. In the illustratedexample, the tracking device 120 is an ADM having a processor (notshown), a display 121, and a keyboard 123; and the tracking device 130is a mobile communication device (e.g., a cell phone, personal digitalassistant (PDA), or pager) having a processor (not shown), a display131, and a keyboard 133. The delivery progress information can informthe care provider 4 of a last-known read location and time of the lastreading. Based on such information, the care provider 4 can decide,e.g., whether to wait for the delivery at the delivery location 60, goto the delivery location later at an expected delivery time, or go tothe last-known location to retrieve the medication from the cart 90.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a flowchart (FIG. 2B continued from FIG. 2A)illustrating an exemplary process 200 for monitoring delivery of apatient-specific mediation according to certain aspects of the presentdisclosure. For ease of illustration, without any intent to limit thescope of the present disclosure in any way, the process 200 will bedescribed with reference to the system 100 of FIG. 1. A person skilledin the art shall appreciate that the process 200 can be implemented in asystem that is different from the system 100 without departing from thescope of the present disclosure. As an initial matter, it is herebyassumed that all location ID devices (e.g., location barcode labels 52,62, 92) are provided on respective locations/areas 50, 60, 90.

The process 200 begins at start state 201 and proceeds to operation 210in which pharmacy 1 (e.g., by the processor 40 and/or a pharmacist)receives and processes a medication order from the doctor 3. The process200 proceeds to decision state 220 in which it is determined (e.g., bythe processor 40 and/or the pharmacist) whether there is a problem withthe medication order. Non-limiting examples of such a problem caninclude: the pharmacy 1 currently being out of stock of thepatient-specific medication or an ingredient (drug or fluid) needed forpreparing the mediation; and the medication or an aspect thereof (e.g.,delivery dosage) not complying with an established rule for themedication and/or the patient.

If the answer to the determination at the decision state 220 is Yes (aproblem encountered with the medication order), the process 200 proceedsto another decision state 225 where it is determined whether the problemhas been resolved or reconciled. If the answer is No, the process 200proceeds to operation 227 in which an order status informationindicating the problem encountered with the medication order (e.g . . ., “Out of Stock”) is generated, and the medication database 45 isupdated accordingly, and the process 200 ends at end state 229.

On the other hand, if the answer to the determination at the decisionstate 220 or at the decision state 225 is No (no problem with themedication order or the problem has been resolved), the process 200proceeds to operation 230 in which the pharmacy 1 prepares thepatient-specific medication. In the assumed example of the IV solution,the preparation can include taking a drug (e.g., bupivicanine) and afluid (e.g., a saline solution) from the medication storage area 10 tothe prep/fill area 20, preparing an IV solution comprising the drug andthe fluid, and filling a package (an IV bag) with the IV solution. Afterthe preparing and filling, a patient/medication ID device (e.g., abarcode label 72) is provided on the package 70 at the prep/fill area20.

The process 200 proceeds to operation 235 in which thepatient/medication information in the barcode label 72 is read by thebarcode scanner 24 at the pharmacy prep/fill area 20 and sent to theprocessor 40. The processor 40 generates delivery progress informationfrom the patient/medication information received from the barcodescanner 24, and updates (e.g., stores) the medication database 45 withthe delivery progress information. If the care provider 4 were to make amedication track request after this point (but before the package 70 isdelivered to the delivery pickup area 30 (operation 240)), the trackingdevice 120, 130 would indicate the prep/fill area 20 as the last-knownread location.

The process 200 proceeds to operation 240 in which the package 70containing the patient-specific medication is moved to the deliverpickup area 30. At the delivery pickup area 30, the patient/medicationinformation in the barcode label 72 is read by the barcode scanner 34and sent to the processor 40. The processor 40 generates new deliveryprogress information from the patient/medication received from thebarcode scanner 34, and updates (e.g., stores) the medication database45 with the new delivery progress information. If the care provider 4were to make a medication track request after this point (but before thepackage 70 is loaded onto the delivery cart 90 (operation 250)), thetracking device 120, 130 would indicate the delivery pickup area 30 asthe last-known read location for the package 70. Additionally, anoptional location barcode label may be provided in the delivery pickuparea 30 that can be read by the barcode scanner 34 or an optionalhandheld barcode scanner located in the delivery pickup area 30 tofurnish the location information of the package 70.

In certain embodiments, before the package 70 containing thepatient-specific medication is moved to the delivery pick-up area 30, apharmacist at a pharmacist location in the pharmacy 1 performs a checkof the content of the package 70 to ensure that the package 70 containsthe right medication.

The process 200 proceeds to operation 250 in which the package 70containing the patient-specific medication is loaded onto the deliverycart 90 by, e.g., the delivery person 2. The patient/medicationinformation in the barcode label 72 of the package 70 and the locationID information in the barcode label 92 are read by the barcode scanner84 carried by the delivery person 2 and sent to the processor 40. Theprocessor 40 generates new delivery progress information from thepatient/medication received and the location ID information from thebarcode scanner 84, and updates (e.g., stores) the medication database45 with the new delivery progress information. If the care provider 4were to make a medication track request after this point, the trackingdevice 120, 130 would indicate the delivery cart 90 as the last-knownread location.

The process 200 proceeds to operation 260 in which the delivery cart 90carrying the package 70 arrives at the intermediate stop location 50,e.g., for delivering another package containing another patient-specificmedication for a different patient. In that case, otherpatient/medication information associated with the otherpatient-specific medication and the location information in the locationbarcode label 52 provided at the location 50 are read by the barcodescanner 84 and sent to the processor 40 to indicate the delivery of theother package at the intermediate stop location 50. The processor 40generates delivery progress information for the other patient-specificmedication from the other patient/medication information and thelocation information received from the barcode scanner 84, and updates(e.g., stores) the medication database 45 with the delivery progressinformation for the other patient-specific medication. In someembodiments, the system 1 can also track the location of the cart 90containing the package 70 by using the delivery information for theother patient-specific medication even though the package 70 is notdelivered to the intermediate stop location 50. By tracking theintermediate stop location(s) of the cart 90, the system 1 can providemore updated current location(s) of the patient-specific medication. Forexample, if the care provider 4 were to make a medication track requestafter this point (but before the cart 90 arrives at the deliverylocation 60 (operation 270)), the tracking device 120, 130 wouldindicate the intermediate stop location 50 as the last-known location ofthe cart 90 carrying the package 70 (and hence the patient-specificmedication). However, the cart 90 is a mobile location. The scheduleddelivery location 60 is considered a “stationary” location. Trackingitems on a delivery cart is more readily achievable than once the itemshave been delivered to a stationary location using conventionaltechnology. This may be due to the relative control that a caregiver hasover items being transported though a hospital or other health carefacility. By comparison, once the item is removed from the mobile cartand provided at a stationary location, there has not been a tracking ofthat item at that stationary location. There is no record therefore, ofthe item location once removed from the mobile cart. The embodiments ofthe present disclosure address such concerns regarding stationarylocations.

The process 200 proceeds to operation 270 in which the delivery cart 90carrying the package 70 arrives at the scheduled delivery location 60.At the delivery location 60, the patient/medication information in thebarcode label 72 and the location information in the location barcodelabel 62 are read by the barcode scanner 84 and sent to the processor40. The computer 40 generates new delivery progress information from thepatient/medication and location information received from the barcodescanner 84, and updates (e.g., stores) the medication database 45 withthe new delivery progress information. If the care provider 4 were tomake a medication track request after this point, the tracking device120, 130 would indicate the delivery location 60 as the last-known readlocation. The process 200 ends at state 299.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 300 formonitoring delivery of a patient-specific medication from theperspective of a tracking device (e.g., 120, 130) according to certainaspects of the present disclosure. As with the process 200 of FIG. 2,for the ease of illustration, the process 300 will be described withreference to the system 100 of FIG. 1. A person skilled in the art shallappreciate that the process 300 can be implemented in a system that isdifferent from the system 100 without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure.

The process 300 begins at start state 301 and proceeds to operation 310in which a tracking request for the patient-specific medication isreceived by the tracking device 120, 130 from the care provider 4.Assuming that the tracking device from which the tracking request ismade is the ADM 120 shown in FIG. 1, the tracking request can be made bythe care provider 4 entering request data, such as the patient's nameand/or a medication order number, using the keyboard 123 of the ADM 120.

The process 300 proceeds to operation 320 in which, after receiving thetracking request, the tracking device 120, 130 accesses the medicationdatabase 45 and retrieves the delivery progress information storedtherein. In certain embodiments, the database 45 is accessed directly bythe tracking device 120, 130. In other embodiments, the database 45 isaccessed via the processor 40. In some embodiments, the tracking device120, 130 retrieves the order status information in addition to thedelivery progress information. For example, when the tracking device120, 130 determines that the delivery progress information indicatesthat the patient-specific medication has not been prepared and filled(e.g., by lack of an ID reading at the prep/fill area 20), the trackingdevice 120, 130 can retrieve the order status information also stored inthe database 45 to determine whether there is any problem with themedication order.

The process 300 proceeds to operation 330 in which the tracking device120, 130, upon retrieving the delivery progress information, determines,based the retrieved information, a delivery progress of thepatient-specific medication. The delivery progress can include, but isnot limited to, the last-known read location where thepatient/medication ID device 72 and/or a location ID device 52, 62, 92was read, time of the reading, and a delivery status (e.g., whether thepatient-specific medication has been delivered to the scheduled deliverylocation 60).

The process 300 proceeds to operation 340 in which the delivery progressso determined is indicated to the care provider 4 who made themedication tracking request. In those embodiments in which the trackingdevice 120, 130 also retrieves the order status information from themedication database 45, a problem, if any, that was encountered with themedication order can also be indicated. In certain embodiments, thedelivery progress and/or the order status can be displayed on thedisplay 121, 131 of the respective tracking device 120, 130. In thoseembodiments in which delivery information associated with anotherpackage may be used for tracking the cart 90 as described above withrespect to the operation 260, the last-known cart location may also beindicated. Examples of such a display of the delivery progressinformation are provided in FIGS. 4A and 4B. After completion ofoperation 340, the process 300 proceed to an end state 309.

For instance, FIG. 4A depicts an exemplary display 400A that provides adelivery progress indication in response to a tracking request made at afirst time (11:03 am). The display 400A includes a header section 410Athat indicates the patient (“Jane Smith”), the medication (“bupivicanineIV solution”), the delivery location (“Medication Storage (#307)”), thedelivery person (“Kevin Doe”), the tracking request time (11:03 am), andthe delivery status (“In-transit”). The display 400A also includes aread list 420A that indicates read locations where readings of thepatient/medication ID and/or the location ID were made by the readerdevice 84, 24, 34, and times of the readings. The list 420A indicatesthat the last-known read location is Operating Room 1 (#305),corresponding to the intermediate stop location 50 (FIG. 1).

FIG. 4B depicts an exemplary display 400B that provides a deliveryprogress indication in response to a tracking request made at a secondtime (11:15 am). The display 400B includes header 410B and read list420B. The header list 410B indicates that the latest tracking requestwas made at 11:15 am and that the delivery status is indicated as“Completed” reflecting the fact that the package 70 was delivered to thedelivery location 60 at 11:10 am, as indicated in the read list 420B.

In some embodiments, in lieu of or in addition to presenting the readlocations in such a text format as in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the readlocations can be indicated (e.g., juxtaposed) on a map of the healthcarefacility. FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary display 500 of a hospital map withread locations with corresponding read locations indicated thereon as ofthe first time (11:03 am).

In certain embodiments, the system 100 allows the care provider 4 toreceive an electronic message when the package 70 is delivered to thedelivery location 60. For example, the processor 40 can be configured tosend, upon determining the delivery, a phone-, e-mail-, and/orpager-message to the mobile communication device 130 carried by the careprovider 4. By way of example, a monitoring software running on theprocessor 40 can be programmed such that when the location IDinformation received from the reader device 84 indicates that thelast-known read location corresponds to the scheduled delivery location60, the software causes the processor 40 to automatically send anelectronic message to the mobile communication device 130 via thenetwork 107, an Internet, or a cellular network. In some embodiments,the processor 40 is configured to send an electronic notification when amedication order is not filled within a predetermined time (e.g., 2hours) after the pharmacy 1 receives the order. Such automaticnotification features further provide further operational efficienciesby eliminating the need for the care provider 4 to repeatedly check forthe medication fill and/or delivery status.

In certain embodiments, various aspects of the present disclosure can beutilized to implement an inventory control system in an acute carefacility that tracks a patient-specific medication through a supplychain (e.g., from a pharmacy to a delivery location). In such a system,information (e.g., medication/patient information and location IDs) canbe collected from various locations in the acute care facility andstored in real time in a database with a web/agent front end. Theweb/agent can aggregate the information in context of a patient's needs.A caregiver (e.g., a nurse) in the acute care facility assigned to thepatient can be automatically notified of an availability status of thepatient-specific medication. For instance, the caregiver can receive anotification when the medication has become unavailable or about to bestocked out in the pharmacy or in a medication dispensing device (e.g.,ADM). The caregiver can also be notified of a status of orderspertaining to the caregiver's patients such as when the orders are inqueue, what the length of the queue is, and/or if the orders arecleared. The automatic notification can be received through cell phonetext messaging, e-mail messages, or Windows live alerts, for example.Alternatively or additionally, a medication storage device (e.g., ADM)that is configured to store the patient-specific medication can receiveand display an automatic notification such as what orders are ready inthe queue or what items will be stocked and how soon. Through suchautomatic notification features, the caregiver can receive timelynotification of medication availability in the context of the patient'sneed. An inventory control system with such features avoids the need forthe caregiver to call a pharmacy to check the status of the medicationand delays and inefficiencies associated with such checking.

It shall be appreciated that various embodiments of the presentdisclosure described above are exemplary only and many changes includingadditions, deletions, and modifications may be made to the embodimentswithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example,all or some of the read locations 50, 60 and the cart 90 may be providedwith respective barcode scanners that are attached to a fixed device(e.g., a computer or a storage cabinet) at the locations. In suchembodiments, there is no need to provide for and scan the locationbarcodes 52, 62, 92 since the respective fixed barcode scanner would“know” where it is located. The patient/medication ID device 72 and/orthe location ID devices 52, 62, 92 may be RFID tags instead of thebarcode labels, and the reader device 24, 34, 84 may be an RFID reader.The medication database 45 comprising the delivery progress informationmay reside inside the processor 40 (e.g., pharmacy server). The deliveryprogress information may be stored in a database that is located outsidethe pharmacy 1. The package 70 may be hand-carried by the deliveryperson 4 to the delivery location 60 instead of being carried on thedelivery cart 90. The delivery location 60 may be another ADM. Thepatient-specific medication may already be stored in a pre-labeledcontainer in the pharmacy medication storage area 10 and may not need tobe separately prepared and filled at the prep/fill area 20. There may bemultiple intermediate stop locations or no intermediate stop locationbetween the pharmacy 1 and the delivery location 60.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram depicting a computing system 600that may be employed as the processor 40 of FIG. 1. The computing system600 may be a standard computer server connected to the hospitalcommunication network 107 and located in the pharmacy 1 as shown in FIG.1 or in a hospital data center or computer room outside the pharmacy 1,although other locations may be employed.

The computing system 600 includes a processor 660, memory 670, display680, and network interface 690 having a wireless interface 692 and awired interface 694. The processor 660 may include a general-purposeprocessor or a specific-purpose processor for executing instructions andmay further include a memory 662, such as a volatile or non-volatilememory, for storing data and/or instructions for software programs. Theinstructions, which may be stored in memories 662 or 670, may beexecuted by the processor 660 to control and manage the wireless andwired network interfaces 692, 694 as well as provide other communicationand processing functions.

The processor 660 may be a general-purpose microprocessor, amicrocontroller, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array(FPGA), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), a controller, a statemachine, gated logic, discrete hardware components, or any othersuitable device or a combination of devices that can performcalculations or other manipulations of information.

Information such as patient/medication information, medication orders,and possible read locations within the healthcare facility may be storedin memory 662 internal to processor 660, memory 670 external toprocessor 660, a database external to the computer 600 (e.g., database45), or any other suitable storage device. The memory 670 or thedatabase 45 may include a Random Access Memory (RAM), flash memory, ReadOnly Memory (ROM), Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), ErasableProgrammable Read Only Memory (EPROM), registers, a hard disk, aremovable disk, a Solid State Memory (SSD).

Memory 662 or 670 can also include the medication database 45 forstoring the medication progress information described above with respectto FIGS. 1, 2A-B, and 3. The memory 670 external to the processor 660 oralternatively, the memory 662 internal to the processor 660 may includesuch an medication database.

Certain aspects of delivery monitoring systems and methods describedherein can be performed by the processor 660 executing one or moresequences of one or more instructions contained in an internalmachine-readable medium such as the internal memory 662 or the memory670. For example, the processor 660 can receive the patient/medicationinformation and the location information from the reader device 24, 34,84 via the network interface 690, generate the delivery progressinformation based on the received information, and store and retrievethe delivery progress information to and from the medication database45.

The processor 660 may also send messages to the mobile communicationdevice 130, such as cell phones, PDAs, and pagers, over a mobile devicelink 105 via the wireless network interface 692 to send an automaticelectronic notification when the delivery is completed. The mobiledevice link 105 may include the hospital network 107 and internal orexternal wireless communication systems that are capable of sendingmessages that can be received by mobile device 130.

Such instructions and/or information may be read into the memory 662,670 from another machine-readable medium, such as a CD, flash memory, ora wireless transmission. Execution of the sequences of instructionscontained in the memory 662 causes the processor 660 perform the processsteps described herein. One or more processors in a multi-processingarrangement may also be employed to execute the sequences ofinstructions contained in memory 662. In alternative embodiments,hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware instructions to implement various embodiments. Thus,embodiments are not limited to any specific combination of hardwarecircuitry and software.

The term “machine-readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing instructions to processor 660 forexecution or storing results of or parameters (e.g., variables orconstants) for computations such as for the determination of thelast-known read locations and whether to send an automatic electronicnotification. Such a medium may take many forms, including, but notlimited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.Non-volatile media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, suchas data storage device. Volatile media include dynamic memory, such asthe memory 670. Transmission media include coaxial cables, copper wire,and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus 664. Commonforms of machine-readable media include, for example, floppy disk, aflexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, aCD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, aFLASH EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave, or anyother medium from which a computer can read.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a number ofadvantages over conventional medication dispensing and tracking systemsincluding expanding trackable locations of medications in a healthcarefacility. The trackable locations can include the final deliverylocation of a patient-specific medication and intermediate stop mobilelocation(s) of delivery means (e.g., cart, tray, person) for carryingthe medication. The delivery tracking can be effectuated even if thepatient-specific medication is a non-ADM-dispensed medication such as anIV solution.

The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled inthe art to practice the various embodiments described herein. While theforegoing embodiments have been particularly described with reference tothe various figures and embodiments, it should be understood that theseare for illustration purposes only and should not be taken as limitingthe scope of the claims.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example orillustration.” Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” isnot necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over otheraspects or designs.

A reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “oneand only one” unless specifically stated, but rather “one or more.” Theterm “some” refers to one or more. Underlined and/or italicized headingsand subheadings are used for convenience only, do not limit theinvention, and are not referred to in connection with the interpretationof the description of the invention. All structural and functionalequivalents to the elements of the various embodiments of the inventiondescribed throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to beknown to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporatedherein by reference and intended to be encompassed by the invention.Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to thepublic regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited inthe above description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a patient/medicationidentification (ID) device provided on a package containing amedication, the patient/medication ID device comprisingmedication/patient information indicative of the medication and apatient; at least one location ID device provided at a respective atleast one stationary location, each location ID device comprising aunique location ID associated with the respective stationary location;at least one reader device configured to read the medication/patientinformation from the patient/medication ID device and to read thelocation ID from the at least one location ID device; a database; aprocessor in data communication with the at least one reader device andthe database and configured to: receive the medication/patientinformation and the location ID, generate delivery progress informationcomprising a last-known location of the package based on the receivedmedication/patient information and location ID; store the deliveryprogress information in the database; when the last-known location ofthe package based on the received medication/patient information andlocation ID corresponds to a delivery location of the package, determinewhether the package is delivered within a predetermined time interval;and generate a notification message based on the determination; and atracking device in data communication with the database and configuredto: receive a medication track request for the medication; retrieve aportion of the delivery progress information from the database; andindicate a progress of the delivery of the medication based on theretrieved delivery progress information.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein at least one of the patient/medication ID device and the atleast one location ID device comprises at least one of an RFID tag and abarcode label.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one readerdevice is configured for hand carry and to read the at least one of theRFID tag and the bar code label.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein theat least one reader device is configured to read the at least one of theRFID tag and the bar code label and to be coupled to a storage device atthe delivery location.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at leastone stationary location comprises a starting location and the deliverylocation.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one stationarylocation further comprises at least one of a prep/fill area and a pickupstation.
 7. The system of claim 5, wherein the delivery progressinformation comprises a delivery time and an identification of adelivery person when the last-known location is the delivery location.8. The system of claim 5, further comprising a mobile communicationdevice configured to be carried by a user and to indicate that amedication is available at the delivery location, wherein at least oneof the tracking device and the processor is configured to automaticallysend an electronic notification to the mobile communication device whenthe last known location is the delivery location.
 9. The system of claim8, wherein at least one of the tracking device and the processor isconfigured to automatically send an electronic notification to themobile communication device, the electronic notification comprisinginformation indicative of the progress of the delivery of themedication.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the tracking devicecomprises a display that is configured to display a map of a facilityand to indicate the last-known location on the displayed map.
 11. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the tracking device comprises an automaticdispensing machine (ADM).
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein at leastone of the patient/medication ID device and the location ID devicecomprises a passive ID device.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the patient/medication ID device and the location ID devicecomprises an active ID device.
 14. A method comprising the steps of:providing a patient/medication identification (ID) device on a packagecontaining a medication, the patient/medication ID device comprisingmedication/patient information indicative of the medication and apatient; providing at least one location ID device at a respective atleast one stationary location, each location ID device comprising aunique location ID associated with the respective stationary location;receiving the medication/patient information directly from thepatient/medication ID device on the package and the location ID directlyfrom the location ID device that is provided at the stationary locationat which the package is currently located; generating delivery progressinformation indicative of a last-known location of the package based onthe received medication/patient ID information and location ID; storingthe delivery progress information in a database; when the last-knownlocation of the package based on the received medication/patientinformation and location ID corresponds to a delivery location of thepackage, determining whether the package is delivered within apredetermined time interval; generating a notification message based onthe determination; receiving a medication track request for themedication; retrieving a portion of the delivery progress informationfrom the database; and indicating a delivery status of the medicationbased on the retrieved delivery progress information.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the at least one stationary location comprises astarting location and the delivery location.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the at least one stationary location further comprises at leastone of a prep/fill area and a pickup station.
 17. The method of claim15, wherein the delivery progress information comprises a delivery timeand an identification of a delivery person when the last-known locationis the delivery location.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the stepof indicating a delivery status comprises automatically sending anelectronic notification to a mobile communication device when the lastknown location is the delivery location.
 19. The method of claim 14,wherein the step of indicating a delivery status comprises displayingthe last-known location.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step ofindicating a delivery status further comprises displaying a map of afacility and indicating the last-known position of the medication on thedisplayed map.
 21. The method of claim 14, wherein the delivery statusis automatically indicated.
 22. The method of claim 14, wherein thedelivery status is indicated upon receipt of a request.